Description
This module covers topics and techniques needed for scientific applications involving systems of ordinary differential equations. Content and examples are tailored towards students who are combining mathematics with scientific study in subject areas including life sciences, earth sciences, chemistry, sustainability.
You will learn to infer the behaviour of dynamical systems by studying their phase plane representation and by investigating the nature and stability of any equilibrium points. This is useful because we can often construct the phase plane even when it is not possible to find an exact solution.
Mathematical ideas that will be developed in this course include techniques of linear algebra such as eigenvalues and eigenvectors, linearization of nonlinear models, and bifurcation analysis for systems involving parameters.Ìý
Ìý
The module is taught through a combination of lectures and workshops. Students who complete this module should be able to:
[1] Analyze and solve linear systems using algebraic and geometric techniques
[2] Produce phase portraits and bifurcation diagrams for autonomous ODE systems, using a combination of analytic and computer-assisted techniques
[3] Make inferences about the behaviour of dynamical systems by looking at phase portraits and bifurcation diagrams.Ìý
Module deliveries for 2024/25 academic year
Last updated
This module description was last updated on 19th August 2024.
Ìý